Georgia Trail Riders Forum
MEMBERS DISCUSSION AREA => General Discussion => Topic started by: lt99ls1 on August 03, 2016, 04:09:31 PM
-
I still think about buying and building an LJ myself ... the grass is always greener on the other side.
Sometimes the grass looks greener because it is...... like when you walk into your garage and see an LJ! //SLAMIN//
@lt99ls1
@Jeepster1407
@Jeeptrk
@tcdawg
My TJ was very built and very capable but I definitely love everything about my LJ more.
-
My TJ was very built and very capable but I definitely love everything about my LJ more.
expand on that Larry. What was your wheelbase on the white TJ?
Why do you like the LJ more than the stretched TJ. One thing I can think of is the potential for a back seat and ability to keep a fuel tank under the rear rather than a cell in the cab. Would like to hear your thoughts.
-
expand on that Larry. What was your wheelbase on the white TJ?
Why do you like the LJ more than the stretched TJ. One thing I can think of is the potential for a back seat and ability to keep a fuel tank under the rear rather than a cell in the cab. Would like to hear your thoughts.
This may be a bit long. //OLDSKOOL//
I do almost all my own work and planing on my rigs and I enjoy it. It allows me to take my rigs to a higher level faster because I am not paying someone else to do labor. I have nothing against people who are either fortunate enough to have the money to pay someone else to do the work or simply don't have the skill to do it. //cheers2// I suck at wood working. //;D//
I always wanted a CJ8 as a kid. Might be picking up a CJ8 this coming weekend if it isn't already sold. //popcorn// The LJ is modern day version of a CJ8.
I LIKE the 4 door JK's but can't afford one and build it the way I would want/need to in order for it to survive one trip let alone multiple trips. A built 4 door JK LS3/6speedauto/tons/42s would be my runner up to an LJ built the same. But who am I kidding I would V8 my weed eater if it wouldn't be to heavy to carry. //:hlp// I do prefer the smaller body of the TJ/LJ over the JK body.
This LJ build is all about second chances for me. I didn't mean to take TJ to the level it was at but I tend to play hard all the time and I break stuff. I did a lot of reading about what works/doesn't work and bunch of upgrading with the TJ. More importantly I found out through real life experience what is necessary for my rig and driving style to be road worthy and durable on the trail without going to extreme over kill.
TJ was 107 wb. I hated the fact the back tires where 8 inches past the rear of the tub.
LJ now 110.25 (lol at the .25) wb. I was shooting for 107-108 but the larger 3.75 axle tubes and the beefy link brackets got me to where I am at. The tires don't stick out past the rear of the tub!
There is always that one set of rocks on the trail that will be your current wheel base nemesis.
TJ had no AC.
LJ has AC.
Did I mention it gets hot in the south?
TJ had Full Hyro steering. Not bad on the road just not every day driver fun on the road.
LJ has Hydro assist.
TJ suspension was crazy soft and scary in curves at highway speeds. Coil springs and shocks front and rear.
LJ suspension if much firmer while still being flexable. I have coilovers on the front and coil springs and shocks in the rear and maybe go to coils on the rear the future.
Being in Harlan and driving made me miss driving my jeep everyday. Moab was the death nail for the TJ. Getting to drive my TJ for 6 days while in Moab made me need a true DD/trail rig to drive.
TJ had a fuel cell in the back cutting down on storage space and the gas smell was awful in the cab if you spilled a drop while filling up.The fuel cell and BTF ring so I could use a completely stock fuel unit was around $550
LJ stock tank was able to be pushed back for $0.
Storage is amazing in the LJ it is like having a tiny house back there. //smoke// I have room for spare parts, tools, coolers and more.
The TJ had 237K miles on the engine and body. The TJ also had a few trail damage spots because of some poor made aftermarket rock rails. Those spots and a few more got hidden by better armour. I repainted it, bed lined and replaced lots of stuff on her but she was still starting to show her age again.
The LJ has 87K on her and she looks great for a 11 year old jeep. I am armouring with the best protection that I can get before it hits a hardcore trails. I have a rail/step on the rockers this time!
Lets talk about the AW4 swap(s) for a minute. The TJ only had the Radesigns shift for controling 1-4 shifting. On the LJ I took the time to wire in the the stock TCU and a Radesigns shifter. So it will drive and shift like a "normal" jeep on the highway while still having complete control of 1-4 while rock crawling.
I put a Ford tarus fan on the TJ, I don't think they are needed or are an improvement. I have one in the garage right now but it will not go on my LJ.
I am able to tune my LJ with HP tuners. That opens up the possibility of either doing a 4.7 or a super charger without having to buy some kind of piggy back system.There is no real tuning options for the TJ.
Some of the things I have talked about I could have redone/fixed on the TJ. It is all the things that you can only get with and LJ that make the shine or in layman's terms "Anything a TJ can do an LJ does better."
-
expand on that Larry. What was your wheelbase on the white TJ?
Why do you like the LJ more than the stretched TJ. One thing I can think of is the potential for a back seat and ability to keep a fuel tank under the rear rather than a cell in the cab. Would like to hear your thoughts.
This may be a bit long. //OLDSKOOL//
I do almost all my own work and planing on my rigs and I enjoy it. It allows me to take my rigs to a higher level faster because I am not paying someone else to do labor. I have nothing against people who are either fortunate enough to have the money to pay someone else to do the work or simply don't have the skill to do it. //cheers2// I suck at wood working. //;D//
I always wanted a CJ8 as a kid. Might be picking up a CJ8 this coming weekend if it isn't already sold. //popcorn// The LJ is modern day version of a CJ8.
I LIKE the 4 door JK's but can't afford one and build it the way I would want/need to in order for it to survive one trip let alone multiple trips. A built 4 door JK LS3/6speedauto/tons/42s would be my runner up to an LJ built the same. But who am I kidding I would V8 my weed eater if it wouldn't be to heavy to carry. //:hlp// I do prefer the smaller body of the TJ/LJ over the JK body.
This LJ build is all about second chances for me. I didn't mean to take TJ to the level it was at but I tend to play hard all the time and I break stuff. I did a lot of reading about what works/doesn't work and bunch of upgrading with the TJ. More importantly I found out through real life experience what is necessary for my rig and driving style to be road worthy and durable on the trail without going to extreme over kill.
TJ was 107 wb. I hated the fact the back tires where 8 inches past the rear of the tub.
LJ now 110.25 (lol at the .25) wb. I was shooting for 107-108 but the larger 3.75 axle tubes and the beefy link brackets got me to where I am at. The tires don't stick out past the rear of the tub!
There is always that one set of rocks on the trail that will be your current wheel base nemesis.
TJ had no AC.
LJ has AC.
Did I mention it gets hot in the south?
TJ had Full Hyro steering. Not bad on the road just not every day driver fun on the road.
LJ has Hydro assist.
TJ suspension was crazy soft and scary in curves at highway speeds. Coil springs and shocks front and rear.
LJ suspension if much firmer while still being flexable. I have coilovers on the front and coil springs and shocks in the rear and maybe go to coils on the rear the future.
Being in Harlan and driving made me miss driving my jeep everyday. Moab was the death nail for the TJ. Getting to drive my TJ for 6 days while in Moab made me need a true DD/trail rig to drive.
TJ had a fuel cell in the back cutting down on storage space and the gas smell was awful in the cab if you spilled a drop while filling up.The fuel cell and BTF ring so I could use a completely stock fuel unit was around $550
LJ stock tank was able to be pushed back for $0.
Storage is amazing in the LJ it is like having a tiny house back there. //smoke// I have room for spare parts, tools, coolers and more.
The TJ had 237K miles on the engine and body. The TJ also had a few trail damage spots because of some poor made rock rails. Those spots and a few more got hidden by better armour. I repainted it, bed lined and replaced lots of stuff on her but she was still starting to show her age again.
The LJ has 87K on her and she looks great for a 11 year old jeep. I am armouring with the best protection that I can get before it hits a hardcore trails. I have a rail/step on the rockers this time!
Lets talk about the AW4 swap(s) for a minute. The TJ only had the Radesigns shift for controling 1-4 shifting. On the LJ I took the time to wire in the the stock TCU and a Radesigns shifter. So it will drive and shift like a "normal" jeep on the highway while still javing complete control of 1-4 while rock crawling.
I put a Ford tarus fan on the TJ, I don't think they are needed or are an improvement. I have one in the garage right now but it will not go on my LJ.
I am able to tune my LJ with HP tuners. That opens up the possibility of either doing a 4.7 or a super charger without having to buy some kind of piggy back system.There is no real tuning options for the TJ.
Some of the things I have talked about I could have redone/fixed on the TJ. It is all the things that you can only get with and LJ that make the shine or in layman's terms "Anything a TJ can do an LJ does better."
good stuff!
-
Great post, Larry!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Thread Worthy
-
Couldn't agree more. I am very impressed how much more capable my LJ is than my previous TJ. 10" longer wheelbase made a huge difference.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Why are you able to tune your LJ, but you couldn't do the same on the TJ?
-
(http://assets.diylol.com/hfs/d98/50f/ce5/resized/x-x-everywhere-meme-generator-fanboys-fanboys-everywhere-e8c38b.jpg)
//popcorn// //popcorn// //popcorn//
Sign me up for the newsletter.
The reason I like the TJ & LJ is they share ALOT of common parts with the XJ & some ZJs.
Meaning: there are a ton of those Jeeps in the recycling yards & the parts are CHEAP.
To me the term JK= expensive parts. I'm a cheap guy but would love to have a 2 door JK Rubicon. But it'll probably never happen. I'll just built a LJ into a Rubicon & have $ left in my pocket for some Natty Light.
-
Why are you able to tune your LJ, but you couldn't do the same on the TJ?
it was his year model of the TJ I believe. I don't think the computer on the 97 to 2003 TJ's would take a programmer.
-
Why are you able to tune your LJ, but you couldn't do the same on the TJ?
it was his year model of the TJ I believe. I don't think the computer on the 97 to 2003 TJ's would take a programmer.
Ah!
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
-
Why are you able to tune your LJ, but you couldn't do the same on the TJ?
it was his year model of the TJ I believe. I don't think the computer on the 97 to 2003 TJ's would take a programmer.
Ah!
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
There is nothing out there that can really tune a stock pcm on a 97 to 04 Jeep wrangler that I know of, if there is I woould be happy to learn about it. You can buy the little programmers that will let you set tires size and do a few other things but are worthless if you change cams, head, injectors, add compression, stroke, turbo or supercharger. Most people will not have to think about any of those things and a perfectly happy with the built proof reliability of the inline 6.
You would have change to a MegaSquirt http://megasquirt.info/, (http://megasquirt.info/,) FAST http://www.fuelairspark.com/fas/ez-efir-self-tuning-fuel-injection-system-for-jeep-6-cyl-w-fuel-systemhtml/ (http://www.fuelairspark.com/fas/ez-efir-self-tuning-fuel-injection-system-for-jeep-6-cyl-w-fuel-systemhtml/) or AEM http://aemelectronics.com/?q=products/programmable-engine-management-systems (http://aemelectronics.com/?q=products/programmable-engine-management-systems) type piggyback\stand alone system to get that kind of flexibility. Sometimes you can get away with making some adjustable MAP sensor and a few other sensors changes if your I6 engine mods haven't gone too over board.
I have owned HPTuners since around 2003 and adding the LJ to the tuner was $99.
Below is just one screen shot of goodies that can be changed with HPTuners.
-
I have been toying with the idea of buying a cheap DIY turbo kit off ebay. I know a bunch of folks who have been running these in the rock bouncer community and having great success with the performance and reliability.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271104922349?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT (http://www.ebay.com/itm/271104922349?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)
Real estate under the hood of my LJ has gotten spare and I have been trying to figure out if I can fit it in there.
-
All that looks like a foreign language to me!
-
I have been toying with the idea of buying a cheap DIY turbo kit off ebay. I know a bunch of folks who have been running these in the rock bouncer community and having great success with the performance and reliability.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271104922349?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT (http://www.ebay.com/itm/271104922349?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)
Real estate under the hood of my LJ has gotten spare and I have been trying to figure out if I can fit it in there.
Holy crap that cheap! I say try it and if you need any sheet metal brackets or mounts hit me up!
That is after you have at least one run on your new setup!
-
I love my TJ but an LJ is the bee's knees for sure. If I had my mods on an LJ it would be unstoppable. I wish I had the wheelbase.